Normally, mammalian lysosomal enzymes are synthesized in the cytosol and traverse the ER where they are glycosylated with N-linked, high mannose type carbohydrate. In the golgi, the high mannose carbohydrate is modified on lysosomal proteins by the addition of mannose-6-phosphate (M6P) which targets these proteins to the lysosome. The M6P-modified proteins are delivered to the lysosome via interaction with either of two M6P receptors. The most favorable form of modification is when two M6Ps are added to a high mannose carbohydrate.
More than forty lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are caused, directly or indirectly, by the absence of one or more lysosomal enzymes in the lysosome. Enzyme replacement therapy for LSDs is being actively pursued. Therapy generally requires that LSD proteins be taken up and delivered to the lysosomes of a variety of cell types in an M6P-dependent fashion. One possible approach involves purifying an LSD protein and modifying it to incorporate a carbohydrate moiety with M6P. This modified material may be taken up by the cells more efficiently than unmodified LSD proteins due to interaction with M6P receptors on the cell surface.
The inventors of the present application have previously developed a peptide-based targeting technology that allows more efficient delivery of therapeutic enzymes to the lysosomes. This proprietary technology is termed Glycosylation Independent Lysosomal Targeting (GILT) because a peptide tag replaces M6P as the moiety targeting the lysosomes. Details of the GILT technology are described in U.S. Application Publication Nos. 2003-0082176, 2004-0006008, 2003-0072761, 2005-0281805, 2005-0244400, and international publications WO 03/032913, WO 03/032727, WO 02/087510, WO 03/102583, WO 2005/078077, the disclosures of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.